Low pitch significantly reduces helical artifacts in abdominal CT.

Purpose: High helical pitch scanning minimizes scan times in CT imaging, and thus also minimizes motion artifact and mis-synchronization with contrast bolus. However, high pitch produces helical artifacts that may adversely affect diagnostic image quality. This study aims to determine the severity and incidence of helical artifacts in abdominal CT imaging and their relation to the helical pitch scan parameter.

Oncology-specific radiation dose and image noise reference levels in adult abdominal-pelvic CT.

Objectives: To provide our oncology-specific adult abdominal-pelvic CT reference levels for image noise and radiation dose from a high-volume, oncologic, tertiary referral center.

Methods: The portal venous phase abdomen-pelvis acquisition was assessed for image noise and radiation dose in 13,320 contrast-enhanced CT examinations. Patient size (effective diameter) and radiation dose (CTDI) were recorded using a commercial software system, and image noise (Global Noise metric) was quantified using a custom processing system.

Response criteria for immunotherapy and the radiologic patterns of immune-related adverse events.

Immunotherapy has revolutionized clinical outcomes in both early-stage and advanced-stage malignancies. Immunotherapy has improved patient survival in both solid and hematologic disorders with the potential added benefit of less toxicity compared to conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy. Imaging plays a fundamental role in monitoring treatment response and assessment of immune-related adverse events, e.

Enantiodiscrimination of methamphetamine by circular dichroism using a porphyrin tweezer.

Using exciton-coupled circular dichroism (ECCD) spectroscopy, our lab was able to differentiate between the two enantiomers of methamphetamine using a commercially available porphyrin tweezer as an achiral host. The host-guest complex formed with (+)-(S)-methamphetamine produced a negative bisignate-shaped ECCD spectrum, whereas the complex formed with (-)-(R)-methamphetamine produced a positive one. This sensitive technique could serve as an alternative method for the enantiodiscrimination of chiral methamphetamine, a commonly abused drug in the United States.

Enhanced survival in perineural invasion of pancreatic cancer: an in vitro approach.

Pancreatic cancer (PanCa) is characterized by perineural invasion (PNI), early lymph node and liver metastasis, and poor prognosis. PNI is one of the important causes of local recurrence. Little is known about the mechanism of PNI in PanCa.